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Sep 22, 2011

Book Chick City rated it:

I gave this book 7/10 on my blog: Book Chick City, but Goodreads still doesn't offer half stars! Grrrrr

Plague of the Dead is such a fun book - if you can call the downfall of mankind fun, which I can as it's just fiction... This book has all the elements I love in zombie fiction; lots of zombies, great characters and an absorbing storyline.

The writing is very smooth - nice and easy to read, great description and imagination. Recht also uses both types of zombie: the fast '28 More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2009

Andy rated it:

I had a discussion with my wife about what constitutes a zombie story. Plague of the Dead seems to be more of a virus story. The strain hits, turns people into mindless, seemingly soulless, infected "carriers", but for all intents and purposes, they are still alive. However, when the "carriers" are killed, they turn into the living dead because they rise and continue on in the attempt to get some food, namely you and me. So I would venture a change of the genre to somethi More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Nov 21, 2008

Michael rated it:

Lt. Colonel Anna Demilio of the USAMRIID knows the danger of this new bug dubed the Morningstar Virus.The goverment plays down the advances of the virus in africa despite Demilio's warnings. The story follows the US soldiers (and civies) from Africa to the the USA all the while running from the Morningstar Strain.

The public was not properly notified due to the efforts of the government to hush it up. By time the characters reach the US, it is clear that the virus has h More...

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Nov 05, 2010

Patrick rated it:

I am more interested in character development than I am in raw visceral appeal that is related to the horror in horror novels. Give me some folks to root for and I will read with baited breath every last bit of their stories. Sad when they died, thrilled when they live. Don't get me wrong, the raw fear and emotions, the violence and excitement of a zombie tale are what makes them appealing. It is just that without the first element listed above, the story is nothing more than just a gory bloodba More...

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Aug 24, 2010

Robert rated it:

Z. A. Recht, The Morningstar Strain: Plague of the Dead (Permuted Press, 2006)

The late Zachary Recht died in December of 2009 at the age of twenty-six, leaving behind roughly half of the final book in the Morningstar Strain trilogy. Word on the street is that it will eventually be fleshed out by another author and released by Permuted, with the blessings of Recht's family. Good news indeed, as the Morningstar Strain books are quite a surprise, if you're not familiar with Permuted stuff More...

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Jun 29, 2009

Emily rated it:

Z A Recht must love zombie movies. How could he not? (i'm assuming Z is a he) Plague of the Dead reads like a text version of a movie. Telling, rather than showing. The book takes an almost clinical, documenting-camera view on the proceedings which holds all of the characters and the action at arm's length.

I really enjoyed the story, but I found the POV a bit distracting. Every once in a while we hop into a character's head for a paragraph or so to see what they see, but don't re More...

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Apr 14, 2009

Joe rated it:

_Plague of the Dead_ is, put simply, a zombie outbreak novel similar in many ways to Max Brooks' spectacular _World War Z_. (WWZ is told in a series of interviews while _Plague_ follows a traditional narrative format, but the manner in which the plague spreads and the military's fruitless efforts to contain it are similar.)
_Plague_ has some strong characters and some pretty awesome moments. You got to love a book where a soldier, already bitten and therefore terminal, hangs on to his g More...

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Jul 09, 2009

Doug rated it:

OK ... so, it was a nice try. The explanation for why there are fast AND slow zombies was GREAT. But unfortunately, not a whole lot else has great merit. The characters are all cookie-cutter. Every "military" character is the same as the next - and they use A LOT of cheesy jargon like "FUBAR" and "SNAFU" constantly.. making it seem like the author did military research by watching too many movies. Also - some of the pop-culture references seem very out of place such More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jul 29, 2010

Alicia rated it:

I just finished reading this book and I must say I'm not disappointed. "Plague of the Dead" is a must-read page turner for those who love the horror/zombie genre like myself.

The story focuses on two groups of survivors: one group consists of military and civilians, the other a military scientist who knows basically everything about the Morningstar Strain, a journalist/anchor woman from Washington DC, and a government agent. Z.A. Recht did an excellent job of explaining the characters and I f More...

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Nov 12, 2009

Kemper rated it:

I am a stone cold sucker for zombie stories. I don't care if they're the old school Romero shufflers or the new breed of 28 Days Later style runners, give me a story about the world being overrun by undead flesh eaters, and it makes me happy. This probably says something very disturbing about me.

This is pretty standard stuff. A virus code named Morningstar breaks out in Africa and *gasp* brings the dead back to life with a taste for the living. Efforts at containment fail and soon More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 23, 2009

Stef rated it:

What I love, LOVE about this book is the way the infection spreads. If you are bitten, the zombie virus will make you a relentless, hungry killing machine. Fast and absolutely enraged. The fever boils you brain dead. But you are alive. If you die from anything other than a head wound (starvation, thirst) or succumb to the bite of the original infection you simply die.... and then rise again as a traditional zombie. Slow from rigor mortis, but no less relentless.
Fair warning: This More...

3 comments like

Jan 17, 2012

Patrick rated it:

This is my first review I've written (or am going to write) for this site, mainly because it's the book I've finished most recently. Hopefully this won't be painful. First off, this book is an easy read; clocking in at only 292 pages (paperback) most people can cruise right through this one. However, that's not necessarily a bad thing, it's a fun book that keeps the pace steady throughout. The only thing I really have to complain about is the characters; the a very shallow and have very little b More...

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Aug 25, 2011

Emily rated it:

Awesome book. One of my favorite parts about it was that there wasn't a whole lot of gore and focus on the "distasteful" themes of zombies. While those things are definitely important, I think the impact of the book was the fact that Recht focused much more on the human aspects of such an outbreak. He spent much more time developing the governmental ineptitude and cover up angle and I think accurately portrayed what it would be like for average people to live through something like thi More...

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Apr 13, 2008

Trevor rated it:

This is an extremely exciting, action-filled zombie book! Good character development makes and keeps readers emotionally engaged with the people on the pages. I just pre-ordered book 2 of Morningstar from Permuted Press. Can't wait to read it!

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 04, 2010

Robin rated it:

I watched the trailer for the new AMC series, "The Walking Dead", and couldn't wait until Halloween night to get my zombie on, so I'm on a bit of a bender.

"Monster Island"...uh, NO (see my review for details).
"Feed" - LOVED IT! (see my review for details).
"Forest of Hands and Teeth" - Did not love, but I am still thinking about it(see my review for details).

And now, "Plague of the Dead".

This has the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 10, 2010

Dlmoore83 rated it:

i know, i know...some people are reading such high-brow books this summer...good, i'm not...i'm getting my fill on vampire and zombie novels...and i discovered i have a lot in common with the kid working at barnes and nobles (well, i have more in common then we are both battling severe facial blemishes right now)....so far, so good - i know you're all waiting with baited brain breath to hear my review, so i'll get off of here and go read!

a military take on the zombie genre...with unl More...

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Nov 15, 2009

Jeremy rated it:

This is a solidly entertaining zombie-apocalypse novel. And for the first 200 pages it's a gripping read, but it stumbles when the story veers away from the plague to some rather silly in-fighting between NSA agents. The author excels at descriptions of military engagements between soldiers and waves of zombies and has crafted a believable zombie-plague, but the characters are thinly sketched and the writing is marred by cliches. Still, it is a page turner and I plowed through the whole of it More...

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Nov 26, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

Usually, I can pick the survivors in a zombie novel. It's pretty easy. Just find the ones who aren't written like walking snackpacks, and root for them. In the case of Plague of the Dead, however, it becomes more difficult, as Recht focuses all his attentions on a gruelingly dull point-by-point military description of the initial zombie outbreak, leaving no time to flesh out his characters. His disinterest leads directly to the reader's disinterest... or at least my disinterest. Those more inte More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 11, 2011

Michael rated it:

This book. Man, this book. Z.A. Recht (R.I.P dude) is an amazing author. He has really captured what a zombie saga should be all about with this series. Characters caught in chaos with no idea of what to do. The characters just survive. At all cost. Jacked up government and shadowy figures within the government. Soldiers saying ftw and going awol, and so much more. This book was a page turner through and through. There were times where I couldn't put the book down until I had come to some sort o More...

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May 28, 2011

Cristy rated it:

Despite what I'm about to stay, I can overlook a lot of sub-par writing if the author's voice and story compensates. Not the case here. Page one of Chapter one (not the opening emails, but the actual first scene) was rife with passive verb tense and nonspecific narration. "Four people" show up on a runaway. "Two guards" rush out to confront them. No color, no description, no discerning between characters. A scene like this wouldn't survive any of the writing groups I've been More...

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Aug 06, 2010

Bianca rated it:

This book was a by-the-numbers thriller that just happened to be set in a zombie apocalypse. The overall action was amusing, but the characterization was incredibly weak. I had a rough time keeping who was who straight in my mind as many characters were pretty interchangeable. At some point I honestly gave up trying to keep track. It of course didn't help that the author had a horrible tendency to write characters with names beginning in the letter "D".

While it was mildly More...

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Sep 23, 2011

Jason rated it:

Another zombie novel, but this time we see it from the point of view of the army & the secret service. What makes it different from the rest? There's a plot twist involving the zombies.
The plague known as the "Morning Star Strain" starts in Egypt & makes it's way across the globe--first killing people like a super-flu. This is where the twist comes in. When a person dies from the plague, it burns them up with a fever & literally boils their brain within their skull. Technic More...

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Feb 08, 2012

Wt rated it:

Really enjoyable book about a virus that creates both creatures like those in 28 Days Later, as well as standard zombies, like those in Dawn of the Dead.
The Morningstar Strain started in Africa and from the multiple viewpoints of storytelling, Recht makes this an enjoyable read (or listen, if you do the audio book).
Recht's style may not be as good as Jonathan Maberry's Joe Ledger style, but the grasp on human psychology and emotions is spot-on! The overall feel of the book is ex More...

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Mar 21, 2011

Anthony rated it:

I decided to break down and give in to a friend's urging to read some zombie fiction. I intended to read World War Z first, since that seems to be the most popular and "mainstream" zombie novel. Well, my friend convinced me to read Plague of the Dead first. I was skeptical of reading zombie fiction, since I had the notion that zombies were something better experienced in movies and on TV. In a way, I was very wrong.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The novel gave som More...

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Aug 22, 2010

Brent rated it:

This was both a GREAT zombie book, and a fairly decent fiction read. Definite shades of Max Brooks with a healthy sprinkling of Michael Crichton. Definite summer-fare, but quite a bit meatier than expected.

The premise is simple: 'The dead live', but as with the best zombie movies, this novel centers on a small band of survivors instead of humanity as a whole. Centering on character development instead of explanations or 'cures', the story is about survival. Definitely pick it up i More...

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Jun 23, 2011

Chris rated it:

Wow! The Morningstar Strain series is probably one of my favorites! Z.A. Recht has done an amazing job with the story. It's very well though out, has great characters, and he explains the zombies in different stages very well. They start out as being infected and turn into running, screaming, killing crazy people (think 28 days later). Then once you kill them, they reanimate as your normal slow moving zombies.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of zombie fiction More...

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Feb 11, 2012

Jess ♥ Wickedly Bookish (Bat-Jess) rated it:

Reviewed for Wickedly Bookish
http://wickedlybookish.blogspot.com/

Yes, this is a book about zombies overrunning the planet. Basically, the American military is experimenting with viruses in Africa for possible future biological warfare. They call it, the Morningstar Strain, and what do you know, some of it just happens to get out and infect the general population. Nice job guys. Countries from all over the world pitch in their soldiers to help evacuate uninfected civilians and barr More...

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Oct 30, 2010

Allison rated it:

I am a big fan of any novel that dumps you face first into the action, and this one does exactly that. From the on-set, this book is a drag you behind in it's wake kind of thrill ride. There's always something happening, always a fight coming in a page or two, always something moving the plot along in some fashion. It has no problems with pacing; it sets such a blistering one that it's hard to keep up.

And there in lies it's problem: keeping up. At any point, there can be three or more More...

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Mar 02, 2008

Thee_ron_clark rated it:

What would happen if the Infected from 28 Days Later turned into zombies after they died? That's pretty much what this book asks. A fast-moving virus is infecting people across the world and turning them into cannibalistic and homicidal maniacs. What's worse is that if they aren't killed by severe head trauma, they get back up and continue to try to kill uninfected humans.

Although the concept is both original (as far as I know) and frightening, the story itself gets dry at times and More...

1 comment like

Jul 06, 2009

Joe rated it:

I'm not much of a horror fan but for some reason I can read zombie books over and over until the covers fall off. This was a really fast read but a pretty cool story. What's always kind of scary about these books is I find the way the authors describe people's mass panic and the break down of big governments to be very realistic. I've read a lot of articles on how this kind of fiction is actually a type of political commentary showing the flaws in society. However, I just read them for a goo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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